New opposition party registered in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Nov 7, 2004 (The Reporter) — A national opposition party known as Ethiopian Rainbow Movement for Democracy and Justice has said it was certified by the National Electoral Board on 26 Tikmt 1996 — presumably 1997 Ethiopian calendar, 5 November 2004.

One of the founding members of the party, Dr Shimels Tekletsadik, told The Reporter that the party was certified after it met the requirements, and would participate in the national elections slated for next year. He said though only 1,500 signatures were need for registration of a national party, the movement had managed to gather 3,000 signatures from various regional states.

According to him, the party will advocate the respect of human rights and will work with organizations that are open for all Ethiopians.

He reiterated that the party would collaborate not only with multinational political parties but also with the rest save for merger.

He indicated the movement would soon hold a meeting to appoint leadership members, and it would do everything it could for the holding of just elections and for the mass media to serve all parties equally, and for independent radio and television stations to be allowed to operate to play a role in elections.

It has been learnt that members of the movement include Prof Mesfin Woldemariam (chairman of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council), Befekadu Degfie, Berhanu Nega and Shimels Tekletsadik.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service – Original text in Amharic